Facebook has announced a lite version of the Facebook messenger application. The Facebook messenger lite app is by name and function a simpler Facebook app that is lighter in terms of the features it comes with. The application was developed to help individuals who want to make use of the Facebook messenger app but are not able to do so because their smartphones cannot run the app due to its memory size, OS version or RAM size. The Facebook messenger lite app is just 10MB large, a fraction of the main app, making it easier for it to run on devices with low memory and older version of Android (the application can run on Gingerbread version of Android).

One thing Messenger Lite won’t be able to do is make voice calls, in this first version at least, as the head of Facebook messenger, Stan Chudovsky, “People want to use the same kind of services they use everywhere else, but it definitely requires different types of tech.” Voice calling is a major selling point of the Facebook messenger app with over 300 million people using the messenger app to make calls.

Facebook is the world’s largest social media website, the company has made its fortunes and still doing so by connecting people around the globe. It is no surprise that they, Facebook, have taken it upon themselves to connect people who do not have internet access to the internet. To this end, the company has rolled a couple of projects, such as internet.org, freebasics and its just announced Facebook lite app. How this charity affects them is quite obvious in that an increase in the number of people using Facebook means an increase in the data available to them. And in today’s world data is highly coveted by marketers and company’s selling different products via the internet.